LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy
Clive Churchill Medalist Reece Walsh has attributed his significant improvement in form to a mid-season injury that allowed him to reset. Although he was not performing poorly in the first half of the season, Walsh was noticeably underwhelming, and the Broncos were struggling outside the top eight, seeming far from a postseason contender.
After returning from his injury, however, Walsh emerged as a more dynamic player. He excelled in the late stages of the regular season and delivered outstanding performances in the finals against the Canberra Raiders, Penrith Panthers, and Melbourne Storm.
His display against the Storm during the premiership decider has been hailed as one of the greatest individual performances in the sport's history. In the post-match interview, Walsh credited a less intense investment in the sport as pivotal to his turnaround.
"To be honest, when I got injured, I got a lot of time away from the game and the boys. That was from Madge, telling me to be at home and enjoy those moments," Walsh explained.
He elaborated, "At the start of the year I was so heavily invested in footy which is obviously a good thing, but sometimes it gets a little bit too much. You're sitting up at night watching film at home, and my little one is there playing but I'm sitting on my phone watching clips from training."
Reflecting on this period, Walsh said, "To be honest, I felt like it got a little bit too much for me so when I got that injury, I sort of reset. I let myself be the footy player at work, but when I went home, I enjoyed being dad and enjoyed being a son to my old man. We got on the tools together; I enjoyed those moments."